The township police department reported 1,103 crimes committed last year, compared to 1,265 reported in 2008. Burglaries, one of the township’s more prevalent categories of crime, saw the largest drop, from 202 incidents in 2008 to 136 last year.

“That one was a huge drop that we haven’t seen,” said Mark Leonard, who was appointed police chief last February.

The suburb’s crime rate has been on a relatively steady decline since 2000, when 1,649 crimes were reported, according to state statistics.

The only category which increased in 2009 was aggravated assault, which grew from 26 incidents in 2008 to 32.

Leonard said the highest-profile violent crime of the year happened in March, when a non-fatal shooting at a go-go-bar led police to pursue a car through town. The driver crashed into two police cars, killing his passenger. The driver, who was from Newark, was arrested.

Leonard credits the overall drop in crime to his new administration, despite losing about 10 officers to retirement this year, bringing the force to 125 officers.

“We’ve bought all kinds of software and are trying to do more with less,” Leonard said. “We’ve opened up the lines of communications between divisions and really made this into a team effort.”

Resident Ann Hardy said she has noticed more police on the streets lately.

“I have a big yellow dog that I walk sometimes as late as 1 or 2 o’clock at night,” said Hardy, who lives in the township’s historic district on Monroe Place. “But I feel safe in my community, and I think it’s largely due to knowing that police are there, and that they’re responsive.”

Crime dropped across the nation last year, not just in Bloomfield.

“As officers we always like to pat ourselves on the back, and our natural inclination is to say that we’re doing a wonderful job, which we are,” said Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura.

According to FBI data, property crimes fell across the country by 6.1 percent, and violent crimes dropped by 4.4 percent.

Fontoura is not surprised by the decrease nationwide, which has baffled some law enforcement experts.

“Criminals are criminals. They’re going to commit crimes when the economy’s bad and when the economy’s good,” Fontoura said. “But now we have computers and patrol cars that can give you instant information on anybody you’re following. You have surveillance cameras, gunshot detectors...all of those things are contributors.”

In Bloomfield, Leonard hopes to continue bringing down crime.

“I don’t want the sophomore jinx,” Leonard said, “but as some people say ‘How low can you go?’”
LNS reporter Tracee Herbaugh contributed to this story.